


The Great Battle of Custody

by ohfuckhim



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Comfort, Custody Battle, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, M/M, Singing, as a joke tho, cant get it out of my head, cuz iroh is tHE ultimate dad, zuko singing oh my fucking gos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:20:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohfuckhim/pseuds/ohfuckhim
Summary: Hakoda and Iroh are having another episode of The Great Battle of Custody. As Zuko’s father in law, Hakoda fought hard with The Dragon of The West. Iroh won easily when he revealed that no one have heard his nephew’s heavenly singing voice other than him.Featuring: Hakoda and Iroh being embarassing fathers, Zuko belting out some notes, and Sokka being a proud husband.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Hakoda & Iroh (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Ursa & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 218





	The Great Battle of Custody

Both Iroh and Hakoda stared at each other intensely. Hakoda narrowed his eyes and smirked, “I carried Zuko! Bridal style! Beat that!” Hakoda slammed his fist on the table and Zuko’s groan was muted in both old man’s ears.

“For what? Five minutes? It was a mere tradition for the wedding. I carried Zuko for five years, perhaps more.” Iroh pulls out a picture of him craddling baby Zuko out of his sleeves. He came prepared to the battle with bunch of baby Zuko pictures, he’s determined to win.

Hakoda snatched the pictures and Iroh grins triumphantly. Hakoda’s eyes widen dramatically while gripping the pictures, “Dear Tui, Dear La, if this not the cutest—“

“Im literally right here!”Zuko finally yelled, face as red as his fancy Fire Lord robes.

Hakoda put the pictures beside Zuko’s scowling face, pointedly ignoring Zuko’s outburst, then coos, “Oh, you grew up too fast.”

“This is stupid!”Zuko muttered and walks away when he saw Hakoda pocketing the pictures to his pants.

Hakoda patted his pocket, “Im keeping it.” Iroh snickered, Hakoda then stared at Iroh again, “I invented Zuko’s favorite dish! Ice cream! Ha! Water tribe always win!”

Iroh arched one of his eyebrows, this battle of custody is way too fun and competitive. Hakoda declared that he’s Zuko’s dad too since his son got married with Zuko. Ever since that day, Iroh and Hakoda always talks about Zuko and well it becomes a game for them, _The Great Battle of Custody_.

“I will always win this battle, unless you have heard Zuko....”

Hakoda leaned closer, eyes full of happiness and excitement. “What? Hear Zuko doing what?!”He asked impatiently.

Iroh dramatically drag the silence by sipping his tea, slurping it loud enough to add the fuel. Iroh leaned closer then whisper it right to Hakoda’s ears, “ _singing_.”

—

Zuko sits beside Sokka, one of their hand disappearing misteriously under the table, probably linked together cause they are sappy like that. Toph snatched Aang’s dumpling and Katara glared at her, “Put it down!” Toph just stuffed it to her mouth as the response.

Everything about this feels so nice, wouldnt it be better if there’s a song accompanying this lovely dinner? Hakoda thinks as he stared at Iroh with determination, he saw Iroh smirking and Hakoda starts to act as composed as possible.

“I’ve heard that the royal here used to do a vocal training.” Hakoda commented offhandedly. Zuko just shrugged, “Of course, it helps us to do public speaking.”

Sokka just handfed Zuko a grape when Hakoda says, “And singing?”

Zuko choked on the grapes. Coughing violently and Sokka pats his husband’s back hastily. Toph is having too much fun, she throws her head back until her laughter booming around the room. Aang bounced on his seat while Katara just looks worried at Zuko’s wheezy breathe.

“I- ah, no thats- thats not the intention. No.” Zuko finally said, face red due to embarassment and grape blocking his windpipe.

“The servants used to love gardening longer than necessary when Zuko’s there. Cause my nephew,” Iroh points at Zuko and Zuko stared daggers to Iroh, not really intimidating since he just coughed his lungs out, “likes to sing in the garden! Everybody in the palace loves Zuko’s voice!”

Sokka grips Zuko’s shoulders and turn him around to face Sokka, he shakes Zuko’s body dramatically, “Why! Why have you never tell me!”

Aang is leaping from his seat starts to ramble about a century year old fire nation songs as a list of songs that Zuko should sing.

Zuko tried to remember everything and tuned out from the rest of the world to dig deeper to his memories. _Singing_ , singing was his favorite thing to do. He was a happy child who sings most of the time about everything.

He remembered making a silly song on the spot when Mother fumbled with her hair that got stuck in the Fire Crown. “One lonely dark strand got stuck.”Zuko sang then he bit his lip to stifle his laughter, sitting cross legged at her bed. “Not one Zuko.”Mother sighed while still trying to untangled her hair infront of the mirror. Zuko giggled and sang again, “Two lonely dark strands got stuck.” Mother turned around and smiled amusedly at Zuko, hair still tangled at the crown, “Burned by the pyre in Mother’s crown!”Zuko pointed at her crown and laughed. Mother joined his laugh then proceed to tickle Zuko until he’s too out of breath to sing.

He remembered singing quietly to Azula, trying to calm Azula when she’s trashing her own room, desperately trying to burn each of Mother’s things thats left there. He holds her tight, hands circling on her waist and Azula tried to get away from his grips but Zuko doesnt falter. Even when Azula grips his arms with burning hands, his skin blistering, his sounds wavering, but Zuko doesnt stop. “Mother always loves us. The prince and the princess.”he whispered the last part of the song and Azula finally cracked, crying in his arms. He holds her tighter, silent tears dripping from his eyes.

He remembered seeing his reflection for the first time after the Agni Kai, face disfigured until he doesnt recognize himself. He tried to blink back his tears but failed. Everything feels detached, his legs gives out and he fell on his knees, Zuko tried to even out his breathing. _Who is that person?_ His mind screamed when he catch another glimpse at the mirror. Zuko looks away from the mirror, tried to calm his body again yet failing. He is sitting in a cold hard steel, in a boat that floats away from home, away from his family, away from everything. Nothing feels familiar, even his own face is strange for him.

His heart tugs, longing a feeling of familiarity. Zuko suddenly realized that something is still the same, his _voice_ , and so Zuko hugged his knees closer, feeling utterly homesick and full of misery filling his heart, starts to sings lowly to himself, “Home, we all need to come _home_. To feel love. To feel happy.”

The others still buzzing with excitement then stopped yelling suddenly when Zuko takes a deep breathe and closed his eyes, everyone feels like at the edge of their seat. Hakoda waited with anticipation while Iroh smiled with misty eyes.

Zuko’s mouth opened, singing a song that he created when he was only eight years old, laying comfortably under the tree near the pond, head in Ursa’s laps while squinting his eyes trying to stare at the sun,

“Dear summer in Caldera,”Zuko opened his eyes and stare right at Sokka’s face who still holds both his shoulder. Zuko smiled a little when seeing Sokka’s smile, so full of love and adoration, “Agni rays brighten her skin, Mother’s love somehow feels warmer,  
Oh how I wish, it stays like this.  
Dear summer in Caldera.”

(Zuko remembered Mother kissing his forehead after that while murmuring, “The summer is forever for you.”)

Everyone went silent until Toph yelled, “Sparky that was amazing!”

Then the cheers erupted. Iroh let out a sob that concealed poorly by a laugh, “Beautiful!” Zuko heard Iroh’s compliment. Sokka hugged Zuko while exclaiming that Zuko should sing everyday from now on. Hakoda almost cried and hoped that this wont be the last time hearing Zuko’s voice.

After that day, the servants doesnt have to pretend to cut an imaginary leaves or strain their ears to listen to The Fire Lord‘s voice. Hakoda might be defeated by Iroh in the Great Battle of Custody but he never felt happier.

**Author's Note:**

> i listened to dante basco singing let it go at youtube and i just,,, yo, i already wrote zuko as a dancer so why not as a singer?!? also zuko having not one but TWO great father figures??? zuko being happy????? zuko doing what he loves???? thats my kink right there


End file.
